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The chief executive of Domino's Pizza Group who proposed the United Kingdom might have hit peak pizza while diversifying the company into fried chicken has been removed after conflicts with its board.

Executive Transition

Rennie is departing after just two years in charge, and will be succeeded on an temporary basis by the company's chief operating officer, Frampton, while Domino's searches for a permanent CEO.

The outgoing executive, who worked for Domino's for over 20 years, had attempted to shift the UK's biggest pizza takeaway chain towards chicken offerings, commenting in a recent interview there was not “significant expansion” left in the British pizza industry. He said chicken was the quickest rising food category in the globe.

Governance Friction

It is understood that there was tension between the CEO and the board over his focus and management style, although the company's announcement said he was departing “through mutual consent”.

Recent Brand Launch

In the autumn, the chain introduced its Chick 'N' Dip product line – which Rennie called a “major strategic shift” for the group – and is trialling it in 210 outlets in the north-west of England and the province.

While the company is still going to roll it out across its almost 1,400 stores next year as planned, it views fried chicken as complementary to its core pizza business.

Leadership Comment

Ian Bull, the Domino's chairman, said: “The board believes that there are a number of opportunities to enhance value and profitability in our primary operations. We are concentrating on finding the suitable leader to lead the disciplined execution of that development approach.”

Market Difficulties

Recently, Domino's, which has millions of users in the UK and Ireland, said transactions fell by 1.5 percent in the latest quarter. In August, it warned that the quick-service industry had “intensified” as it attributed weaker consumer confidence in the lead-up to the budget and higher payroll outlays for disappointing revenue and a 15 percent decline in six-month income.

Other pizza operators are also experiencing difficulties. Pizza Hut announced the closing of multiple locations a last month, after the firm behind its outlets fell into administration.

Health Initiatives

Adapting to market shifts towards better nutrition, the company has rolled out lower-calorie items, such as its thin-crust range of bakes below 400 kcals as well as meat-free and allergy-friendly options. A big pepperoni bake has 2,311 kcals. A family cheese pizza has 2,171, while a personal has 909 calories.

Acting Management

The interim chief has been with Domino's since the recent past, and was formerly with the gaming group William Hill. It is thought that she does not want to assume the chief executive role long-term.

She said: “The company has a several current expansion and performance initiatives that we will be dedicated to executing at pace.”

She said these comprised further work on the organization's procurement system and new item creation, and its customer retention initiative.

The pizza chain is also without a long-term finance director until March 16, when a new appointee joins from the drinks company C&C Group. Until then, Snow acts as interim finance chief.